Colleagues chide Ball on drug-testing call for welfare recipients

Assemblymen Keith Wright and Robert Rodriguez said Ball is “dead wrong” in proposing that anyone applying for public assistance first pass a drug test.

“The last thing the most vulnerable New Yorkers need from their government is another roadblock to the services guaranteed to them by Article 17 of the New York State Constitution. For the record, the average family of four on welfare receives a mere $386 per month in temporary assistance from New York State. Additionally, there is already a statute in place to require drug testing if it is warranted, rather than the deficit increasing across-the-board invasion of privacy that Senator Ball proposes. I believe that Senator Ball would feel differently if it were residents of his district who stood to go hungry because of this nearsighted proposal. How does the Senator feel about drug testing people who purchase firearms? Wouldn’t someone armed and on drugs be a much greater threat to our society? Regardless of where the Senator stands on the 2nd Amendment or Article 17, I think he needs to regain his footing before his hypocrisy spins him out of control,” said Assemblyman Keith Wright (D- Central and Western Harlem)

“To continue to perpetuate the myth that low income recipients of public assistance are drug users is an insult to hard working New Yorkers who are fighting their way out of poverty, especially during a challenging recession,” says Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez (D- East Harlem).